If we are two single people but hold a joint mortgage, can one person claim all of the interest so long as the other does not? If the other will not claim the interest do they have to even report they own a home jointly? Thanks!

If you are jointly AND severally liable to pay the mortgage (meaning that if your partner does not pay his/her share, then you are legally liable to pay it all), then, yes, one partner CAN deduct all of the mortgage interest.

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Originally Posted by AtlantaTaxExpert

If you are jointly AND severally liable to pay the mortgage (meaning that if your partner does not pay his/her share, then you are legally liable to pay it all), then, yes, one partner CAN deduct all of the mortgage interest.

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-Thanks for the help, but let's say we have a joint checking account and our money all comes out of "one pot" so it's not as if one certain person is really paying it. Can we just claim all of it one one of our tax returns (since the refund is going back into the joint account anyway). And if so, does the other person that also owns the home even have to show they own a home on there return (since the interest was already claimed on the other persons return)?

Whose SSN is on the Form 1098 (Mortgage Interest Statement)? That is the person the IRS will expect to claim the interest.

It does NOT mean that the person whose SSN is NOT on the Form 1098 cannot claim the interest, it just means that you need to be able to explain to the IRS WHY and HOW the interest liability was incurred.

The ideal would probably be for you to split it equally, but I can see why you would want ONE person to claim it.

My earlier post still applies. If the loan is set up that you both are jointly and severally liable for the loan, then EITHER of you can claim all of the interest.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AtlantaTaxExpert

Whose SSN is on the Form 1098 (Mortgage Interest Statement)? That is the person the IRS will expect to claim the interest.

It does NOT mean that the person whose SSN is NOT on the Form 1098 cannot claim the interest, it just means that you need to be able to explain to the IRS WHY and HOW the interest liability was incurred.

The ideal would probably be for you to split it equally, but I can see why you would want ONE person to claim it.

My earlier post still applies. If the loan is set up that you both are jointly and severally liable for the loan, then EITHER of you can claim all of the interest.

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-Now you are probably getting really annoyed at this point, sorry in advance! So if one person has already claimed all of the interest, then (for example) when the other goes to complete there tax return in "turbo tax" and it asks if you own a home, can that person just check "no" since at that point it makes no real difference?

Yes, check NO on TurboTax. That's the easiest way to handle it.